From the days of Charkha, our handloom industry has come a long way. The cultural heritage has in fact evolved into many characters. But surprisingly, no one notices the weavers who were behind the looms working day and nightSautra is Anindita’s social initiative to uplift the weaver’s community in India and give them a platform to showcase their craftsmanship, ensuring the upliftment of their lives and thereby keeping alive the rich culture and heritage of handloom.

“Sautra is inspired from the “Women Of Today”, the distinctiveness lies in the adaptation of traditional aesthetics into everyday lives of modern women. We get inspired by the crafts of India. We contemporize the craft and bring it in your everyday wear. We trust good design makes life simpler. Our approach embraces sustainable crafts and local artisans.” says Anindita founder and designer of Sautra .

Sautra is a sanskrit word which means Sutra (Thread). Inspiration is drawn from the love for handloom and the craftmanship behind these creations.

Sautra specializes in

Mul Cotton sarees – easy to wear and easy to maintain.

Muga Silk by Sautra – One of the most exclusive pieces a woman must possess is Muga silk – one of the rarest and the most expensive silks in the world. They are made of a silkworm which is only found in Assam.

Nakshi Kantha sarees -these sarees take 2 months to get ready, Nakshi Kantha is a circular design which is all over the saree, these hand works are generally done by the women of the weavers family. They are done with an eye of detailing.

Patachitra Saris , Sautra creates exceptionally fine handloom like the Patachitra, with mural based narratives displayed on finely hand painted sarees. The paints are all natural vegetable colours used. The paintings are depiction of Krishna Leela, Ramayana or the tribal village scenes.

Patachitra or painting on cloth , is amongst the most distinctive forms of traditional painting in Orissa. The word is derived from the Sanskrit word Patta meaning ‘canvas’ and ‘chitra’ meaning picture. The iconic paintings , a domain of the chitrakar community of painters , depict religious themes – stories from the Ramayana , Mahabharta, Krishna Lila incarnations of Lord Vishnu . But the most important depiction is that of Lord Jagannath. The pattachitra has its roots in the schematic paintings of the Jagannath temple that were made as the souvenirs for the pilgrims. The paintings are colourful and characterized by creative motifs and details of human figures , jewellery and costumes . The canvas is skillfully made . Cloth is bonded with gum made from powdered tamarinds seeds , dried in the sun and burnished on both sides with a coarse stone and subsequently with a smooth pebble. The colours used in paintings are extracted from rocks and sea shells . Patachitras have two kinds of borders – floral and geometric . The common motifs painted on these borders are called dahaniya macchi , kangura , lahara macchi , goolai , sapa and chauk . The patachitras have an important role in the rituals of the temple at Puri . They are temporarily installed in place of the deities during the few times the idols are taken out of the temple for the processions.

“These exclusive handlooms are dying because of lack of awareness, or may be because of less supply. One Patachitra saree takes 2 months time, now a days hardly 25% of Indian women are aware of the handloom sarees and varieties of handloom sarees available in India. Few designers have started working in handloom and hence it has become a trend. There are few Indian women who still think handloom is designer wear and hence they are expensive. No body gives due respect to the craft or the craftman. Sutra is is trying to focus of Handloom products from various part of the country not only from one region. So if you see the Dhakai’s from Bengal, you will also find Muga silks from Assam and Pattachitra from Orissa. You will also get the flavour of Shibori from Rajasthan and Ajrakh from Gujarat. ” Anindita

Nurturing the creativity of our weavers and showing enthusiasm in their work is the actual creative process behind Sautra sarees. Designs can be created on the laptop and files but bringing them to the audience is the real creative process.And Sautra has successfully managed to do that.

The entire journey so far has been very memorable. From the ideation till the website www.sautra.com launch, each day each experience and each moment is memorable recounts the designer.
Follow Sautra on Facebook here . You can buy Sautra saris at www.sautra.com

Here is wishing Sutra a beautiful and successful journey .

Image Credits : Sautra

More details on Patachitra can be found on the Sautra website and Handmade in India by Ranjan & Ranjan